My Sister's Story
by jekkah
Summary: A spin on the finale from Brandi's point of view. This replaces the last two seasons. It's a plot bunny that escaped while talking to my sister over FB. More details on that inside.


_Author's Note: So, my sister, Erica, finally watched the finale and hated it as much as I did. However, she's not generally quite as outwardly bitter as I am so she tried to put a Dallas/Scrubs spin on the finale in a Facebook comment to me. I begged her to expand on it and turn it into a fic, but she refused so my muses decided to run wild with it. With her permission, I give you the following. She's also allowed me to give you her original comment so that you can see what I turned it into. I'll post that at the end._

_**I hope you enjoy, Eeka! Even if you don't normally read fanfiction!**_

**_I am currently in the process of adding my stories to The Writer's Coffee Shop due to the recent purges. You can find my "M" rated IPS fics there now. Thanks!_**

_Disclaimer: I own nothing for "In Plain Sight" but the dvds and iTunes for the first four and a half seasons. I don't own Facebook, "Dallas," "Scrubs," or The Disney Channel either._

**My Sister's Story**

_What the hell was that?_

That was the first thought that ran through Brandi's brain as she awoke. The dream left her unnerved as did the realization that she was alone in bed. Sunlight wasn't yet steaming through the window, though it wasn't dark outside. She heard the shower running meaning she knew exactly where to go to get the comfort that she wanted.

Brandi swung her legs over the side of the bed, surprising nimble for being six, nearly seven months, pregnant. A small smile lay on Brandi's face as she thought of all the complaining that Mary did over the fact that she could barely breath in her sixth month of pregnancy whereas it had hardly slowed Brandi down. Thinking of Mary, though, brought back the dream and spurred Brandi to hurry into the bathroom.

Leaning against the double sink, Brandi took a look around the large master bath. Not of the first time, she felt like pinching herself, not believing this was really hers. She felt those old doubts of her worthiness creep into her stomach and she forced herself to push those thoughts away. Brandi ran her hand over the dark marble of the sink as the shower shut off. She licked her lips when Peter appeared from behind the frosted glass, wrapping a towel around his dripping wet body.

"Everything okay?" he asked, startled to see her there.

"No. Yes," she corrected quickly, suddenly feeling stupid for letting a dream upset her so. "It's nothing."

Peter grabbed a second towel, wiping his face and shoulders as he walked towards her. "Clearly, it's not nothing or else you wouldn't be up so early."

Brandi sighed, scrunching up her nose. "I had a dream; an awful, awful dream."

"The bunnies again?" he asked with a smile.

"The bunnies would have been better!" Brandi wailed. She shook her head and wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes. "No, I dreamt that the last two years never happened and other stuff, _wrong stuff_, happened instead."

Peter was unable to hide his curiosity in what Brandi's pregnant subconscious had come up with for the last two years. "Are you going to tell me or what?"

Brandi sighed. "Okay, but let's do it over breakfast."

"Are you sure? It's early."

"Yep," she nodded. "I'll just go back to sleep and have another breakfast later."

Peter chuckled at that. He quickly got dressed and met Brandi in the kitchen. She had prepared oatmeal and fruit slices, her current breakfast of choice, and set out the danishes he had grabbed on the way home from work. He grabbed himself a cup of coffee and poured Brandi a second glass of orange juice.

"So, what was this dream all about?" Peter asked her around a bite of oatmeal.

"It started out about two years ago when Mary took that vacation," Brandi began.

Peter scratched his chin, thoughtfully. "The one where she pretended to go away, but actually hid out at Marshall's for two weeks so that they could work through enough of her issues to give a relationship a go?"

Brandi nodded. "Instead, I dreamt that Mary went away with the FBI agent that was stalking her and when she came back, Marshall was dating this brunette detective with the most annoying voice. The two of them were so obnoxious together; all cutesy and crap like they were in junior high on the Disney Channel. She arrested me for stealing cars off your lot, but Mary and Marshall figured it out."

"See, even in your dreams, you know that Mary will come through for you." Peter grabbed her hand and kissed it. "What else happened?"

"Oh!" Brandi squealed, causing Peter to jump. "Mary got knocked up by her ex-husband!"

Peter choked on the sip of coffee he was taking. "Her ex-husband? The guy that friended you on Facebook and then tried to extort money from you? Yeah, he was a real winner."

Brandi shrugged. "Apparently, he's back in jail now, anyway. I mean, Mary's made some bad decisions with men, but even I don't think she'd go back to that tool."

"Especially now that she's got Marshall and has had him since the speech in the office before her vacation." His eyes sparkled. "Even she can't recount that story without blushing."

"So, Mary got knocked up by Mark," Brandi continued. "She was going to put the baby up for adoption, even after you and I offered to adopt her."

Peter frowned. "That doesn't sound much like Mary. I mean, I know how protective she is of you and Jinx. I can't imagine that she'd like any child of hers go."

Again, Brandi shrugged. "It didn't make much sense to me either, but she changed her mind in the end anyway. The baby came really early, on our wedding day!"

"The baby came in the middle of our wedding?" Peter asked, amused. "That sure beats Marshall proposing to Mary in the middle of our reception."

"Actually," Brandi said, slowly, "we didn't get married. I sort of ran off beforehand, ended up in Florida with Scott."

"You ran off? Just like that? And Scott doesn't even live in Florida!" He wasn't sure why Brandi running off irritated him, but it did. It was just a dream, he tried to remind himself; a crazy, hormone filled dream.

Brandi sighed. "It didn't make a lot of sense to me, either. I mean, there was no build up to it. I just sort of freaked out on the wedding day and ended up running away. But, yeah, Mary went into labor after she told everyone that there wasn't going to be a wedding and after she and Marshall had some big speech about him protecting her over Abigail – the detective, but I don't really remember from what. It had something to do with their job. Hey, you don't think they're in, like, Witness Protection, do you? They were in my dream."

Peter froze for half a second as he had long ago figured out that was exactly what his sister-in-law and her husband did. "Nah. That's a very elite branch. What are the chances that Mary and Marshall are involved in that?"

"You're right," Brandi giggled, pushing all thoughts of Witness Protection out of her head. "So, Mary and Marshall have this talk where they don't really talk and nothing gets said, but we're all suppose to believe that stuff was said. She goes into labor in the middle of it and gives birth two months early to the most healthy preemie that I've ever seen. She ended up keeping her and naming her Norah." She giggled again. "I guess even dream me can't imagine Mary without Norah."

"It is hard to imagine Mary... or Marshall... without Norah. She's the center of their world." Peter smirked as he thought about his fourteen month old niece with her dark blond curls and blue-green eyes. She was conceived just a month after Mary and Marshall started dating. It was quick, but it somehow fit the two of them. Norah was just three months old at his and Brandi's wedding; where her father finally proposed to her mother, much to the surprise of them all, including Marshall himself. They were a bit slower when it came the actual wedding as they were just now getting around to the engagement party. The wedding was schedule for six months from now so that Brandi had time to fit into her bridesmaid's dress. "I can't wait for Norah's cousin to come."

Brandi rubbed her stomach, proudly. "Me, either. Are you sure you're ready for another Shannon woman?"

Peter laid his hand on Brandi's stomach, feeling Grace kick. "I can't wait. Okay, so Mary decides to keep the baby. Was Mark involved?"

"He was. She was crazy overprotective, like she is with Norah, but for some reason she trusted Norah with Mark. I mean, I know she was his daughter, but it's not like Mary knew him all that long this go around. She barely let Marshall help, but she's going to let this that knocks her up after being gone for twenty years, that shows up again just a few days before she gives birth, go wild with her kid. Yeah, I don't see that happening."

Peter had to nod in agreement. He could only imagine the hoops that Mary would make Mark go through to see his own kid knowing what she made them do the first time they baby-sat Norah for a half hour. He was glad that Marshall had stepped in to placate her and even gladder that he was able to find a nanny that Mary approved of in a short time. Peter wasn't sure exactly how Marshall had convinced Eleanor to work for them, but she provided just the amount of sass and support that Mary needed as a new mother.

"So, Marshall and the annoying cheerleader get engaged and it looks like Mary's starting to realize just how much in love with Marshall that she is when she turns around and starts sleeping with Kenny," Brandi went on.

"Kenny?" Peter blurted. "Kenny, the douchebag from Lamaze class that got both his girlfriend and her sister pregnant and keeps hitting on the single mom and her mother? That Kenny?"

Brandi laughed at his outburst. She had forgotten how much he disliked Kenny. "That's the one. It gets even worse because Mary decided he was the one after he said a few words after Dad died that any half-decent human would have said."

"Your dad died?" Peter asked, gently. Forays into her father were always unpredictable.

"Yeah, he had cancer or something so I guess all his guilt came crashing down on him, but he actually ended up being shot and dying that way," Brandi replied, nonchalant. Her father was the least disturbing part of her dream as far as she was concerned. "Oh! My dream killed Scott! Poor Scott. No one really seemed to care about him. Abigail made Marshall some sort of ultimatum because saving Mary over her was fine, but supporting his best friend when her father died was too much. Instead of manning up and either telling Abigail that Mary is his best friend and that's what friends do or changing the nature of their relationship himself, Marshall put it all on Mary, asking her not to call him."

Peter snorted. "Dream Marshall comes off a bit wimpy, doesn't he?"

Brandi nodded. "You should have heard the speech he gave her where he made it seem like their entire relationship since they first met was based solely on friendship."

"No one who watched them interact for more than five minutes would ever believe that."

"I know, right!" Brandi finished the last of her oatmeal and yawned. "The dream ended at Stan's going away party. He got a new job in DC. Everyone was all smiles. Mary was there with Kenny and he was getting to know everyone. Marshall and Abigail were still together. Marshall was taking over Stan's job."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that would go over real well."

Brandi scratched her head, lost in thought. "Does Marshall even have any ambition to go up the chain?"

"You know, I asked him once and he said that he couldn't imagine doing anything other than what he was doing; that he would rather leave the paperwork and administrative duties to others," he replied. "I think he was implying that my job is boring."

"I don't blame him, honey." She flashed him a smile to show that she was just kidding. "Anyway, that's when I woke up. It was awful. Stan moving away so Mary lost her father figure. Marshall marrying someone way too boring for him. Mary trying to make a go with her sleazy one night stand. Oh, I showed up at the end, pregnant, not knowing who the father was, after being in rehab. It was just disturbing."

Peter stood to clear their dishes away. "Disturbing enough to wake you up and seek comfort?"

Brandi stood, also, rubbing her eyes. "It seems silly now, but it felt so real. I know my sister and there's no way she'd be happy in that life. It would destroy her. She would move after a few months. She needs Marshall to ground her."

"And he needs her to let him soar." Peter kissed her softly. "They are a perfect match."

"Like us." Brandi hugged him. "I'm going to go back to bed for a few more hours. What are you doing up so early, anyway?"

Peter put his hands on her shoulder, directing her back to the bedroom. "I have some paperwork to get through this morning before we go set up for the engagement party."

Brandi climbed into bed. "Jinx and the Director want us there at three, right?"

"Two," Peter corrected. The Director was the name that Mary and Brandi called Jinx's new husband. He directed the local playhouse and was as in love with Jinx as she was with him. Even Mary liked him, which was no small feat.

"And you got the pictures onto the disks to play at the party, right?" Brandi asked, her eyes closing involuntarily.

Peter kissed her forehead. "Don't worry. I have it all covered. I'll see you in a few hours. Get some sleep."

Brandi smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too, but if you wouldn't mind, could you go back to dreaming about the bunnies? Somehow, they're less scary," Peter nearly begged.

"I'll do my best."

Peter smirked. "And whatever you do, absolutely do not tell your sister about your dream."

END

_My sister's original comments on Facebook about the "real" ending in her mind:_

_Scene: Brandy awakes in a bedroom and there is a shower heard in the background. She hops up and you see she is about 6 months pregnant. She rushes into the bathroom just as the shower turns off._

Ent Bathroom Scene: An Expensive looking bathroom, steamy from glass door shower Peter is standing and toweling off

Brandy: Peter! I had the most awful dream! I dreamed that instead of marrying you, I ran off to Florida-of all places!-and this baby was not yours!

Peter: oh wow, pregnancy gives you weird dreams. It's ok, sweetie, you know we had the most beautiful wedding.

B: you're right, I'm fine now, sorry...let me get a shower and we will meet Mary and Marshall at the brunch

P: ok...who would have thought that Marshall would finally confess he was in love with Mary and she would be just crazy enough to try it once-and now we are heading to the engagement brunch Jinx is throwing

B: I know! and he did it at OUR reception! Though they had baby Norah a bit ahead of schedule

Peter rubs her belly

P:I can't wait for her cousin to come

B: Me either!

Scene: Engagement Brunch

Music Over tone while various toasts and laughing and baby passing and belly rubbings are happening There is a projector screen showing pictures of the couple doing different activities and with their baby. Camera moves into the projector and Mary has some voice over that I have to rewind because I didn't listen to it the first time like I always do about the future and unknown stuff and blah blah and the projector show the family moving forward, Marshall getting promoted, more babies for the sisters, Jinx getting remarried, etc etc etc.

THE END


End file.
